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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26891965">Your Heart in the Ocean ~ a collection of shorts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakaibunshi/pseuds/hakaibunshi'>hakaibunshi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, Gen, Heartshipping, M/M, Multi, Tendershipping</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 21:54:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26891965</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakaibunshi/pseuds/hakaibunshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>as the title suggests: a collection of short stories, drabbles, and standalone scenes.<br/>Just for me to collect all the short stuffs together in one place. A lot of these works are inspired by songs or maybe images.</p><p>warnings, characters, ships etc. will be added as needed / as stories get added.<br/>I will also place specific TWs in the notes at the beginning of the chapter if there is such content.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bakura Ryou &amp; Yami Bakura, Bakura Ryou/Mutou Yuugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Your Heart in the Ocean || Yugi x Ryô [heartshipping]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Heartshipping</p><p>___<br/>After graduating Yugi and Ryo take some time to uncover the nature of their affection for each other.</p><p>___<br/>*post-canon<br/>*fluff / romance / friends to lovers / first love</p><p>___<br/>inspired by the song "sweater weather" by The Neighborhood</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Heavy from the late sunlight, Yugi’s eyelids fell to hide a glassy shimmer underneath. Rosy cheeks soaked up the remainder of the day’s fever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whispers reached out from the coast; far away waves, a chilling breeze over endless water and sea birds only here and there painted into the sky, susurrating poems of how the wind smelled like euphoria. He smelled it, too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The soaked grains beneath were swamped with equanimity, but his toes held on to the shore without effort until the water submerged them to pull his footing away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Each time it made him waver just a little.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t it getting too cold?” Ryou waded through the dunes; arms slung tightly around himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice was the universe affixing its musing instrumental to this scene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unable to outrun his emotions, a smile caught up to Yugi’s face and him off guard, and he raised his palms toward those eyes, but it was too late to stop the tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No sound escaped his mouth quite yet, and if it did, it was something between a cry and laughter because his heart was trenched in such alleviation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryou hopped across the beach, alerted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without surrendering his cover, when he sensed his friend right next to him and felt his hand reach out to pet his back, he turned and snuggled his face to his chest and sniggered. The concoction of perfume and sunscreen tingled his senses, already infusing the atmosphere with something erotic despite it being too early for that. “You okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, it’s nothing, I just...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Made to fit, Ryou’s waist was comfort in his arms. He pulled them closer together until they tied into a knot of suppressed teenage dreams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s not a reason to cry.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I’m not crying,” he bent the truth.</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryou entangled himself into the cradle, draping his arms around Yugi’s neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sand made his feet itchy, but the tight embrace of the other was a sanctuary on its own, filled with a maybe-future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For nothing in the world would he have wanted to be anyplace else in this moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the wind slowly combing through his messy locks, he watched the sun drop into the ocean.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Against the wildness of his heartbeat, his fingers ran with patience through Yugi’s damp hair. He wondered how many young couples were standing on the beach right now, waiting for the night to dictate their next moves, hoping for an incline of nature leading the way but ending up helplessly lost in their adolescent impatience.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his arms, Yugi was shivering in his sleeveless shirt and his shorts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The silence around them felt so sacred; even his small voice was an intrusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you want to go inside?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yugi remained quiet, blending into the tranquillity around them. But in such junctures, silence was answer enough, so they both took another moment to acknowledge their being there.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>How much they had worked and saved for this moment. Sometimes it was crucial to step outside of the world to put yourself in perspective again. They had needed this chance to escape their every day and get to know each other the way they had longed but denied themselves to, perplexed in matters more important, busy fighting ghosts or the schmerz of losing them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fately appointed to something bigger than most of their peers, they had been left unable to grow into their own emotions until it had become impossible to assess them under the watchful eyes of too many familiar faces and too much stigma which they had not outgrown yet.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was imperative now—before moving on with this newly acquired adulthood—, to appraise their relationship for themselves first, alone and between them, without having to consider anything beside it. Far away from home and judgment, which they had assumed, never witnessed but still felt the need to prepare for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was the first time they dared to share their personal space in a way that wasn’t friendly anymore, consciously letting their hands feel the other body’s shape and allowing their minds to go places with it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And they already acknowledged that soon thereafter, they would share their first kiss. That they would—for the first time—see each other fully undressed without the need to camouflage their interest. That they would—for the first time—experience a deeper intimacy because that was the nature of things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They knew all that and were afraid as much as they were looking forward to it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They weren’t in a hurry. Every second was to be relished. They had held out for four years between the first innocent sensation of a crush and the desperate demand to know if there was something bigger after all. Now was the time to feel everything slowly and intensely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So Yugi did not want to leave the cooled down beach quite yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to stand there and feel the earth pull into the ocean every so often, sweeping him off his feet just like Ryou had done wearing that all-white suit for their graduation ceremony in high school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wanted his knees shaken and not knowing whether it was because of the unsteady ground or the cold or his nerves, strained with anticipation and fear and embarrassment and elation and all of that. He forced himself to forget how it felt to suffer privation since he was now able to pay such close attention to the fingernails trailing his scalp and the way it covered his skin in goosebumps.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>As if he should write a paper about it the next day and recall every minor detail else it might be impossible to have the imagined reader understand the pleasure of the experience. As if no one had ever loved another before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Never would he let go of the slender waist again. Now it was still covered in thick wool, but he had seen it, of course, stole coy glimpses countless times during their shared high school years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was the first time he felt it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The cold air on his naked legs, only half of his upper thighs covered by his shorts, was a sensual contrast to Ryou’s warm sweater, which was comforting his arms where he held him so tightly, and his chest where it was a fluffy chastity belt between their bodies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the end of this thought, he had nothing left to think about, but—lost in the purity of anticipation—found himself longing to have Ryou’s thoughts bare before him. Ryou, whom he still called a friend now though it wasn’t exactly accurate anymore—it wasn’t really clear, the lines had never been defined and kept on getting blurred by the gentle hands of time. It was alright.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was what had brought them here. They would figure it out and straighten this picture, which the elapsed years had so heavily obscured.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you thinking right now?” he dared to ask because a faint snickering had escaped the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who, me?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“No, the man on the moon.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A tight pull revealed Ryou’s intention of separating, and Yugi complied only because there was an unspoken promise between them of more moments like this.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Gently Ryou placed his hands on Yugi’s hips and turned him around just to embrace him again right away, both now facing the ocean. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His wired mind, despite all that water and all that sky in his eyes, could perceive nothing but the body behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He felt Ryou’s excitement, not innocent anymore but still pure nonetheless. It aroused him also, but it didn’t harm the enchantment of the moment between them, and Yugi was glad for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was natural.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A humming by his ears sent chills down and into his skin, Ryou’s lips so painfully close to his hearing, almost nibbling the cartilage, if he were to tilt back his head just a little, maybe he would kiss it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right now …,” Ryou teased, his left hand grabbed Yugi’s right hand, and his right hand grabbed Yugi’s left hand and the sleeves of the sweater, which were too long because that’s how Ryou liked it, enclosed the cold fingertips and then his hands entirely, forming a warm tunnel around them as they crossed in front of his belly. The rest of his body stayed exposed to the water world before him that wasn’t judging them and his friend behind him who smelled his salty hair. “I am thinking about you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yugi smiled, not trying to hide his bashfulness from this night he was facing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He bit his lower lip and listened carefully, not expecting the most profound wisdom but offering it that kind of attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And about the cabin right there behind us.” His voice became so faint, Yugi had to focus to understand. “I think … I would like to take off your shirt, but it is cold and you just won’t come inside with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ocean was completely black now, save for the shimmer from the lighthouse and the moon. Yugi was sure the only reason his friend could speak his mind so indecently was that they weren’t looking at each other, and some things are easy to say enclosed in darkness even though they seem impossible under the day's exposure. Their artwork called for silence, but he could not help himself and chuckled before he turned around, breaking their closeness for the shortest instant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without even letting the air get to his hands, he grabbed Ryou’s again, losing his fingers inside the sleeves once more while looking into his face, tainted in afterdark. And if it would not have been for that, it would have been awkwardness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Let’s go.” His heartbeat was calling so devastatingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only came to watch the sunset.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well,” he used the excuse to stop looking at the big eyes before him, which made him so weak and checked the background, “it is all set. Gotta come back tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And because I am nervous.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryou smiled, barely visible, and brushed the dark hair, tucking it softly behind his ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know,” he admitted, “Me, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Four years of lying to each other, themselves, and everyone around them and countless moments of simply not quite telling the truth had taught them to value honesty. Little was as consolatory as words that just looked right on another person.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No need to hurry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he agreed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were holding hands on a stunningly beautiful beach in California where they looked at each other, fully acknowledging the feelings between them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just about a year ago, he would not have thought it possible, but suddenly it felt as if the world was on their side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, no. There was no need to hurry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But…” His words took their time. “Would you mind if- ” Yugi noticed a tiny stutter. His heart still exhilarating; he had to oversee himself not to cross Ryou now and go ahead with what he was going to propose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you mind if I kissed you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would love that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>And then Ryou’s sweatered palms were on his cheeks before he even noticed them missing from his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And their noses touched, which didn’t allow as much as a thought to process the sensual manipulation before he already perforce closed his eyes and their lips came together, timidly but still determined.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>From then, it was all salt and sweetness in his brain and weak knees and static in his head. Ryou’s tongue—so soft and shy—, his own heartbeat driving him crazy, sea birds shouting above, congratulating them or making fun, it wasn’t evident. And he was short for air and the mind to spare on that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once before,—Yugi recalled now—they had almost kissed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or perhaps they had. Barely a peck on the lips, over before either of them knew it had happened, and it had never occurred again, nor had they acknowledged it anytime after. Now was different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their kiss on that beach was fully self-conscious, and they both fell in love with the taste of that solipsism.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Hypnophobia || Ryou & Ring Spirit</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>when thinking about Ryou.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ryou &amp; Yami Bakura</p><p>___<br/>Just a little flash-fiction thingy in preparation for a Tendershipping fanfiction <br/>(though this part does not include anything shippy)</p><p>___<br/>*missing chapter (kind of) / Ryou before we meet him<br/>*angst / darkfic / hurt</p><p>___<br/>TW: implied trauma/ mental illness</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span><strong>Hypnophobia</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Under the fortress built of sheets and cushion was their forever-place. Dark and warm, always save from the world behind the curtains, verily a gracious castle erected for their protection. Here it was safe to close the eyes. It was safe to snuggle into the softness of pillows and drapes that carried the familiar scent of fresh linen. Fortress for two until he outgrew it, and the nights grew with him, swelled in darkness and vision, taunting his slumbers. Where had his spirit gone to? With him gone, insomnia had taken the empty space by his side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He fought it for a while. And his father who tried so hard to make him grow up naturally. Eventually, he gave in to the efforts and obediently became just that: normal. He stopped asking for the visionary partisan to return to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He learned to dissimilate, but his father still left eventually. And it ripped a hole in his facade. But he happily accepted that peephole into the soul. As the nights drew in heavy and swallowed his bloodshot eyes unkindly, finally, he came back to him! Perhaps he needed to be in distress to be saved; therefore, it was good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They didn’t go back to building pillow castles. They were stronger now, and the nights were thicker than blankets. After midnight Ryou would sit in a corner, waiting for the effulgence to throw his shadow on the wall now that he had removed his curtains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The insomnia helped with the visions. Enclosed in this shadow figure, Ryou learned to feel the cold fingers whenever he touched the dark apparition.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The TV screen was static because he didn’t need the people inside; he just needed the noise to smudge the edges between his own words and the speech of the other. The ring would sometimes laugh at him. When that happened, he placed him right below his heart, and like a vicious insect, he would bury his golden fangs into his skin, dig beneath. Slowly enervating, he fell so deeply in love with the self-destruction. Now he was always dizzy, and the taste of blood helped him talk to the other. When he collapsed sideways on his floor, it still felt like an embrace because the other one was always right there. His mother had left. His sister had left. Eventually, his father had left, and all his friends had left also. But his spirit would never leave him. He felt him combing his soiled hair. Brushing his cheeks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And when Ryou was afraid to fall asleep, he would kiss his heavy eyelids and help him rest behind them, helping him maneuver this body of his that wasn’t good for anything anymore but keeping the other alive.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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